Tracing Team Liquid’s Path To The International 8

Posted 27th July 2018 By: Derpina&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp1 Views

Esports News – Team Liquid established a staple name in the esports industry after winning The International 7. Last year was a great year for them, but can they repeat history this time around? Let’s look back at the performances of Team Liquid before The International 8, and see if they have what it takes to claim a second win in a row.

Before prominence

Team Liquid only became one of the Dota 2 tournament favorites after The International 5. Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen, Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov, and Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi are the forerunners of the team. They kept on changing rosters following the International 6, but they improved after using the strategy—starting with a victory at Epicenter 2017.

The current squad of Team Liquid now sports a combination of veterans and newcomers. It’s the same roster that brought them the DreamLeague Season 7 title in Atlanta. From then on, other teams have become aware of Team Liquid’s momentum and defenses.

The International 7

The team got hold of the most competitive pros at The International 7, rivaling other worthy competitors. One of them was the Russian team Virtus.Pro who had just won a major victory at The Summit, and another was Summit Grand finalist Team Secret. Team Liquid defeated all the lined-up enemies in the group stage, earning the first place in the upper bracket. The only team that had nearly defeated their courage was Invictus Gaming.

After the group stages, Team Liquid was dubbed as the “European Hope”. They have eliminated all other European and CIS teams, following the path that led them to three straight European teams. This battle included matches against the underdog LGD.Forever Young and Chinese team Newbee. The Grand Finals saw Liquid defeating Newbee in a 3-0 victory—a winning streak that has never done before by any team in The International history.

Post-Aegis, Pro Circuit

Team Liquid started strong in the this year’s Dota Pro Circuit after a Minor win. The other teams’ defenses weren’t enough to stop them from proceeding to the next rounds, even the combinations of former Western TI7, Virtus.Pro, and Team Secret. In the case of ESL One Hamburg, however, Team Liquid got eliminated in the semifinals. But the Pro Circuit is still on-going, Liquid may have faced defeats in the ESL, but they dominated the China Supermajor after a close 3-2 victory against Virtus.Pro.

The International 8

The team’s journey to The International 8 is not an easy one. There were roads not taken. But according to critics and viewers, Team Liquid 2018’s number of wins and losses look very similar to their successful run at The International 7. They still have plenty of time to improve and come up with new strategies that could surprise their opponents. Among the teams locked in for TI8, Team Liquid might be facing Virtus Pro and Team Secret for the second time around.